May 2020: OCC Issues Final CRA Rule in the Face of Massive Flaws and Opposition

This was originally published on May 29, 2020 in the OCDCA Newsletter.

Federal News

OCC Issues Final CRA Rule in the Face of Massive Flaws and Opposition
On May 20 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced a final CRA rule with a list of CRA qualifying activities. Comptroller Joseph Otting, the Trump appointee who slammed through the rule, has resigned and will be leaving his post today in the middle of a national economic crisis. Surprisingly the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) decided not to join the OCC. The Federal Reserve was already in disagreement.

Reaction from advocates has been clearly negative. Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) said "This is an awkward, disjointed and rushed move by a single agency that couldn't get agreement from the two other agencies that regulate banks within the same administration. The OCC should have been able to agree and work with the other two agencies that oversee enforcement of the same law. It couldn't. It failed. That's an administrative fiasco.... He (Otting) just made a regulatory mess and he isn't sticking around to fix it."

Comptroller Otting also took the highly unusual step of privately lobbying the country's largest financial institutions to support his crusade. Think about that - the regulator lobbying the regulated.

"I'm not at all surprised by the reckless speed at which the OCC finalized the rule," said NACEDA Executive Director Frank Woodruff. "Comptroller Otting has choreographed the illusion of rulemaking since day one, putting forward his misguided single ratio approach over the objections of communities, advocates, banks, and his fellow regulators. I find it exceedingly hard to believe the OCC has carefully considered over 7,500 comments in 41 days while simultaneously managing our country's financial health during a global pandemic."

"The OCC's approach to CRA reform was always misguided, secretive, and suspect. The fact that the OCC would issue a new rule in the midst of a global pandemic and just a few weeks after the overwhelming majority of the 7,500 comments raised a myriad of serious concerns, directly illustrates that this effort was never about bolstering access to capital in low-income communities. It was always about gutting this most important law while dismissing our beloved communities," said Nate Coffman, Executive Director of the Ohio CDC Association.

This is not over. NCRC and partners have pledged to file litigation. Practically rolling out the new rules will take a couple of years or more also creating potential opportunities for legislative and/or administrative solutions. Although the OCC may have ignored the overwhelming dissent in the public comments, the comments remain valuable to future litigation and legislative/administrative advocacy. OCDCA greatly appreciates the many members that have advocated against this harmful rule.

Advocate for #RentReliefNow

Earlier this month Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Denny Heck (D-WA), introduced "The Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act" to create a $100 billion federal Emergency Rental Assistance program to keep low-income, unemployed tenants safely housed during the pandemic. Over one-million Ohioans applied for unemployment benefits within the last few weeks with 650,000 of those being renters. The Act was included in the recently House passed HEROES ACT (pandemic relief) to be negotiated with the Senate.

Our friends at COHHIO have explained that with landlords and tenants joining forces, momentum for emergency rental assistance is growing.

Sen. Rob Portman, who introduced the Eviction Crisis Act in December, understands the need for rental assistance and could provide crucial support in the Senate. Please take a moment to ask him to support an expanded version of that bill that would provide enough funding for rental assistance ($100 billion) to respond to the new realities facing renters as a result of COVID-19.

Thank you for your advocacy! When these phone calls add up, they really can make a difference.

HUD Distributes $1 Billion Second-Round CDBG-CV Funds

HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) posted the second round of CARES Act CDBG supplemental funding, CDBG-CV, on May 11. The CARES Act provides up to $5 billion in CDBG supplemental funding. Of that amount, the first allocations of $2 billion were announced on April 1 and were distributed to states and entitlement jurisdictions using the same statutory formula used to distribute the regular annual FY20 CDBG allocations. The remaining portion of the $5 billion is to be distributed directly to a state or unit of local government, at HUD's discretion, according to a formula based on factors to be determined by HUD. These allocations can be made on a rolling basis based on available data.

State News

Brownfields Bill Passed, Awaits Gov. Approval

Ohio lawmakers unanimously passed HB168, with the Senate passing the bill on May 6 and the House of Representatives concurring to changes made by the Senate on May 13. HB168 is a bill that the Greater Ohio Policy Center has championed as a means to encourage brownfield redevelopment through regulatory reform. The bill provides an affirmative defense for legal liability protection to prospective purchasers of a brownfield who take all appropriate steps to assess the property. An amendment accepted near the end of the bills deliberations clarifies that the affirmative defense offered by the bill is retroactive to January 11, 2002, when companion federal legislation look effect.

Having passed both the House and Senate unanimously, the bill now heads to Governor Mike DeWine's desk for approval.

You can read more about HB168 and what BFPD will do to encourage more brownfield development on the GOPC blog.

Planning to Apply for Housing Development Gap Financing?

OHFA is accepting a Notice of Intent to Apply and Exception Requests for the 2020 HDGF program. If you are planning to submit a Notice of Intent to Apply for the HDGF program, please contact Karen Banyai before submitting the materials to OHFA. Karen will work with applicants on where and how the materials should be sent to OHFA in order to ensure all materials are received and reviewed in a prompt manner. The application window will close on July 30, 2020 or after all funds have been reserved.

April 2020: PPP Expansion

This was originally published on May 1, 2020 in the OCDCA Newsletter.

Federal News

Advocacy Alert: Call for Emergency Rental Assistance

Negotiations on the next coronavirus relief bill have already begun! Please ask your member of Congress to support $100 billion for Emergency Rental Assistance.

Housing is foundational to our economy. Many of the nearly 1 million Ohioans who have been laid off in recent weeks can't pay rent and face the prospect of losing their homes in the middle of a pandemic. While eviction moratoriums can help in the short run, tenants are still responsible for paying rent and landlords need that revenue to pay their bills.

We must not leave unemployed tenants exposed to eviction or expect landlords to absorb all the losses. A responsible and complete response to this pandemic demands a substantial emergency rental assistance package.

We support U.S. House leaders' plan to include a $100 billion time-limited emergency rental assistance program in the next coronavirus relief bill. Under this proposal, low-income tenants who recently lost their jobs would apply for financial assistance to be paid directly to their landlords. This proposal would allow some arrearages to be covered, as well as rent payments going forward, until reemployment is possible. This will keep tenants stably housed while ensuring property owners can continue operating responsibly.

The next two weeks are critical. We are calling on you for help because so much is on the line for Ohio's low-wage workers who have lost their income, and Ohio's communities that are struggling economically. Please contact your member of Congress today and ask them to support $100 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance because the stability of America's tenants - custodians, cashiers, retails sales workers, restaurant and hotel workers - will determine the duration and intensity of the economic recession.

CARES Act Commits $5B to CDBG

The CARES Act committed $5 billion to CDBG with $2 billion in direct funding to states and localities under the CDBG program's current formula and $1 billion that will go directly for states to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus. The remaining $2 billion will be allocated by HUD. The CARES Act provides CDBG grantees with flexibilities that make it easier to use CDBG-CV grants and FY 2019 and 2020 CDBG Grants for coronavirus response and authorizes HUD to grant waivers and alternative requirements. Unlike the annual CDBG program, these dollars have no caps on the amount that can be sub-granted to non-profits that provide housing, education, childcare, elder services, and other services. Flexibilities also exist with HOME Investment Partnership program and information can be found here and here.

OCC and FDIC Fast Track Harmful CRA Rule Change

The comment period on proposed rule changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) ended on April 8 despite urgent calls to suspend rulemaking during the pandemic that would divert billions of dollars from low-and moderate- income communities. On April 9, Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting announced that more than 7,400 comments had been submitted and that the OCC would work toward issuing a final rule by early summer. We are all deeply concerned that key stakeholders serving low-income communities did not have the capacity to focus on regulatory changes while facing dire health and economic situations in their communities, and that these changes will decrease the flow of capital to those who need it most for decades to come.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) latest count is that 1,616 of the comment letters or 85% of the total aligned with NCRC's position that the agencies must go back to the drawing board and significantly revise their proposal if they wish to maintain and/or improve upon CRA's effectiveness in increasing lending and investing in LMI communities. It appears that Ohioans submitted a disproportionate share of public comments. OCDCA would like to thank the many members that submitted! We'll all keep up the fight against this blatantly harmful proposal.

President Signs Fourth COVID-19 Relief Package Containing PPP Expansion

On April 24, President Donald Trump signed into law a $484 billion interim Covid-19 relief measure called the "Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act." The bipartisan agreement includes an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which offers forgivable loans to impacted small businesses to encourage them to keep their employees on the payroll during the Covid-19 pandemic. Of that $310 billion, the legislation stipulates that $30 billion be set aside for loans to be made by lending institutions with assets not less than $10 billion and less than $50 billion. Another $30 billion will be set aside for community financial institutions, including Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and other lenders with less than $10 billion in assets. The measure also allocates $60 billion to the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, with $50 billion of those funds to be made available as direct loans and a further $10 billion assigned for Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants, which offer applicants a forgivable advance of up to $10,000 within an expedited timeline. In addition, the legislation also includes $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for Covid-19 testing. Negotiations on a fifth Covid-19 relief package will begin in the Senate when the chamber returns from its recess on May 4.

State News

Planning to Apply for Housing Development Gap Financing?

May 4 is the first day OHFA will be accepting a Notice of Intent to Apply and Exception Requests for the 2020 HDGF program. If you are planning to submit a Notice of Intent to Apply for the HDGF program, please contact Karen Banyai before submitting the materials to OHFA. Karen will work with applicants on where and how the materials should be sent to OHFA in order to ensure all materials are received and reviewed in a prompt manner. The application window will close on July 30, 2020 or after all funds have been reserved.

Ohio Creates Office of Small Business Relief

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced the creation of the Office of Small Business Relief within the Ohio Development Services Agency. The Office will coordinate state efforts to identify and provide direct support for Ohio's nearly 950,000 small businesses. The Office will initially focus on three key areas:

• It will serve as the state's designated agency for administrating federal recovery funds awarded to Ohio for small business support and recovery.

• It will work with federal, state, and local partners to evaluate and determine possible regulatory reforms that encourage employment and job creation.

• It will coordinate efforts of the Ohio Small Business Development Centers and Minority Business Assistance Centers at local levels.

Resources for small businesses are available online at coronavirus.ohio.gov/businesshelp. New services and support identified by the Office of Small Business Relief will be added to the site.